Deena, I'm so glad you like your Cheeseburger Soup. I'm going to try it next. I'll go your route and use cream, egg yolk, and cheddar as my base. I'm a cheese lover, so I always use extra-sharp cheddar in recipes and salads.

I don't have any experience at all with flaxseed flour or meal, so I have no opinion on what to do with it. That's your call and your baby!

I like the notion of the variations of Cheeseburger Soup on the link I sent you; there're lots of possibilities there...maybe add a little can of green chilies and use jack cheese...Fiesta Cheeseburger Soup!

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NEW YEAR'S CHALLENGE: 10 poundsStart: 207 (12/04)

"My weakness has always been food and men - in that order." Dolly Parton

OK...so I tried making a slurry with the milled flaxseed but it didn't really do much regarding thickening it any further. If it had been earlier and I wasn't getting tired, I'd have tried making a roux just to see what that might do.
So I split it up into individual servings and put them in the freezer.

I'll tell you, Sandy....I really think I'd prefer to leave the lettuce out...it's not really necessary and it kinda grosses me out...just the idea of lettuce in a hot soup. I mean, I'm okay with spinach being limp when cooked...but lettuce just seems weird. But bacon might work well.

I wish there was some Atkins-approved way to really thicken it good. I think it would be even much better if it could be made to be much thicker. It had never really occurred to me that this would be a major problem on Atkins....needing to seriously thicken something. I guess I'd just never made anything that needed thickening before.

I wanted to copy something here that I found on the blog of a member named Magnolia Rayne....and I think she copied it from somewhere else but wanted to give her credit. It's what happens during the hour after you drink a regular soda:

1. # In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.
2. # 20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat.
3. # 40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness.
4. # 45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.
5. # 60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and/or artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.
6. # 60 Minutes: The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to pee.) It is now assured that you’ll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolyte and water.
7. #60 minutes: As the rave inside of you dies down you’ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You’ve also now, literally, urinated away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like even having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.

This really made me think...from a physiologic standpoint. And it fits right in with the Taubes theories....in fact, a great example of several of them.
Item #4 is intriguing to me...the whole release of dopamine thing.....why would nature have made humans to become addicted to food items? We have dopamine and endorphins but I don't think humans were meant to get a rush from them from what they eat....or from drugs, etc. Not good for us, basically. I'm sure that McDonald's food causes a rush of dopamine too....and the problem is even compounded by the fact that we don't feel well if we stop eating it for a while...a true sign of an addiction....and that can't possibly be good.

Then on top of the whole addiction issue....is the sugar spiking causing insulin release which in turn causes fat storage....and also the whole issue of not only no nutritional value but causing loss of nutrients that we did get from other better foods.
But at the very least, just eating any sort of sugar or high-fructose corn syrup, will cause the release of insulin/fat storage and also the dopamine rush.

I wanted to ask you guys something.....if you've read around here regarding some of the other low-carb diets. Due to the fact that restricting the carbs so seriously is critical to weight loss on Atkins and also to not eat anything with sugar as an ingredient..........have you ever wondered how they lose weight on these other low-carb diets when they are not restricting carbs nearly as much as we are and eating carbs we can't eat (whole grain bread/pasta, etc.)?
I mean, Atkins makes total sense from a physiologic standpoint....but if you follow the logic of the diet...being a metabolic one....it seems to me that one would not lose weight on these other low-carb diets. I wonder if they are actually losing weight due to lower calories, and not to fat-burning from ketosis. I don't see how one could possibly go into ketosis with the amount of carbs they eat/can have....do you?

It is certainly much healthier to eat significantly less carbs and also BETTER carbs (whole grain, etc.) than humans like to eat.....but I just don't see how they are losing weight on them...unless it is really low calorie....which would make it a deprivation diet, IMO.....along with the corresponding downsides, including hunger. A lot of them are rather low-fat, IMO...so they wouldn't be eating the fat needed to go into ketosis either. I'd much rather do Atkins than any of those other ones. And it seems to me that hunger and stalls is fairly common with them. Many of them do have an induction period just like Atkins does....but then they start adding significantly more whole grain type carbs....and often stall then...or at the very least, the weight loss slows down significantly.

Weight 127.3.............okay, here is the run-down. I got the permanent liner and while it fits much tighter, it hurts too much to chew....until I build up the new calluses on my gums. As the swelling from the surgery had gone down, I'd had to get several temporary liners and each time, it took a bit of time to build up the new calluses. This permanent liner is kinda rough, surface-wise along the inner part that goes ON the gums...which is making it even a bit tougher.

BUT.....my gut sense is that calluses or no calluses, I'm always going to have difficulty chewing certain items. And it's a darn good thing that I did the diet first and the teeth second.....because had I done it the other way around I would have had one **** of a time because one of the most difficult things for me to chew is meat. In fact, I made soft tilapia with butter and lemon, thinking it was soft enough to chew.....but I had significant difficulty and ended up kinda partially chewing it and then swallowing it only partially chewed. (ugh).....but I badly needed some protein at the very least to stop the ravenous hunger I was getting in the evening.
And Akins is really the only diet that works and has ever worked well for me.......and due to the protein issue, it's a good thing I took care of losing the weight first.....and THEN set out to fix all the teeth.

I feel sure I am gonna be able to chew much better once the calluses build-up.....but don't think I'll ever be able to chew like I used to.....and meat and raw veggies will be a permanent problem, I suspect.
Well, what can ya do? You just have to do the best you can in any given situation, right?

Thanks for the suggestion, SilverLife. Is arrowroot low carb and where would you buy it? I don't think I've ever seen it in the grocery stores. Would I have to go to the (health) food co-op for this item?

ONE week until the wedding. Haha....it suddenly occurred to me yesterday that "hey dee, I don't think that your large black bag (purse/pocket book) is gonna be quite the ticket to go with a fancy gown.
So I need to get earrings and a dressy clutch-type thing. And then get my hair put-up at the salon Friday at noon. Then we will be driving to my sister's in Upper Saddle River, NJ. I just drove my son to the train station to go up to NYC for the rehearsal.....and I pick him up later this evening.
Today, I have to speak on the phone withs 2 of my sisters regarding travel plans and staying overnight plans.....I talked to my brother, who lives in Rockville Center, NY earlier today. I'm still kind of a nervous wreck. I hope the gown still fits me good....I think I was around 136 when we bought it.

Weight 127.3.............okay, here is the run-down. I got the permanent liner and while it fits much tighter, it hurts too much to chew....until I build up the new calluses on my gums. As the swelling from the surgery had gone down, I'd had to get several temporary liners and each time, it took a bit of time to build up the new calluses. This permanent liner is kinda rough, surface-wise along the inner part that goes ON the gums...which is making it even a bit tougher.

BUT.....my gut sense is that calluses or no calluses, I'm always going to have difficulty chewing certain items. And it's a darn good thing that I did the diet first and the teeth second.....because had I done it the other way around I would have had one **** of a time because one of the most difficult things for me to chew is meat. In fact, I made soft tilapia with butter and lemon, thinking it was soft enough to chew.....but I had significant difficulty and ended up kinda partially chewing it and then swallowing it only partially chewed. (ugh).....but I badly needed some protein at the very least to stop the ravenous hunger I was getting in the evening.
And Akins is really the only diet that works and has ever worked well for me.......and due to the protein issue, it's a good thing I took care of losing the weight first.....and THEN set out to fix all the teeth.

I feel sure I am gonna be able to chew much better once the calluses build-up.....but don't think I'll ever be able to chew like I used to.....and meat and raw veggie will be a permanent problem, I suspect.
Well, what can ya do? You just have to do the best you can in any given situation, right?

Thanks for the suggestion, SilverLife. Is arrowroot low carb and where would you buy it? I don't think I've ever seen it in the grocery stores. Would I have to go to the (health) food co-op for this item?

ONE week until the wedding. Haha....it suddenly occurred to me yesterday that "hey dee, I don't think that your large black bag (purse/pocket book) is gonna be quite the ticket to go with a fancy gown.
So I need to get earrings and a dressy clutch-type thing. And then get my hair put-up at the salon Friday at noon. Then we will be driving to my sister's in Upper Saddle River, NJ. I just drove my son to the train station to go up to NYC for the rehearsal.....and I pick him up later this evening.
Today 2 of my sisters regarding travel plans and staying overnight plans.....I talked to my brother, who lives in Rockville Center, NY earlier today. I'm still kind of a nervous wreck. I hope the gown still fits me nicely....I think I was around 136 when we bought it. I hope to be able to post some wedding photos here when we get back....it will give a good idea of what 195 lbs. to 130 lbs. looks like.

Gaahhhh! Here I am at 3 am. after sleeping only about 4 hours. I'm a nervous wreck....and yesterday was a clusterf*ck due to multiple phone calls and happening with my huge family. And one of my sisters was admitted to a psych hospital....Good grief!

Diet-wise....hanging in there. Had meat loaf and cottage cheese today...no problem. Only one sore spot....on upper left back...but working on that. I'll never be able to chew normally but hopefully well enough to stay on Atkins maintenance. I am determined! I even donated all the fat clothes and burned that bridge. I'm NOT going back there!

AND....I am now going to quit smoking! A new member introduced herself and gave me a recommendation for an electronic cigarette that she and 25 friends had total success with and have all quit smoking. I ordered and the items needed shipped out Wednesday and are coming by priority mail.

The site is called "vapor4life".....can be a bit complex to figure out what to order....but my sister (a different one, don't worry) helped me to order and if anyone is interested, let me know and I can help with this....especially after I get it in the mail....as then I will actually understand everything.

Wish me luck! The reason I ALWAYS went back to smoking when I would quit was due to the fear of gaining weight. But no more. I am too old for this!